We’re in the midst of a most splendiferous morn, sky clear, temperatures perfect. Except for a couple of damp spots in our ride back through time, we won’t even need a sweater.  We’ve an interesting trek ahead through Santa Clarita history. There’s movie trivia, football brawls and tourists who steal body parts.  Tourists Who Steal Party Parts.  Bad but angry garage band name?  Well. On the bright side, they weren’t local body parts.  C’mon. Hearty souls up front and along the edges, the more sensitive can ride in the middle …  WAY, WAY BACK WHEN   CASTAIC: FOR THE BIRDS. — Besides being a crossroads in a trade route that goes back centuries, Castaic was also famed for its wildlife. With the various streams running year-round and a few small lakes, the little hub and future truck stop was a favored stopping point for all manner of birds. On Nov. 18, 1848, famed bird expert and illustrator John Woodhouse Audubon camped out here to sketch our feathered friends.  NOT TOO BAD OF A PRE-CHRISTMAS PRESENT — Speaking of Castaic, José Covarablas was granted the huge Rancho Castac (sic) on Thanksgiving Day, 1843. Wonder what José would think of all the trucks and townhouses …  SEEING DOUBLE — Easily the two most famous twins in Santa Clarita history, Sanford and Cyrus Lyon were born on Nov. 20, 1831 in Machias, Maine. The men left a colorful legacy in this valley, from school building to gunfights. Lyons Avenue, despite being a typo (it should be, “Lyon” Avenue), was named after the brothers.  HOPPING BACK TO CHINA — In 1898, the last of the Chinese laborers who built the Southern Pacific railroad left the valley. Hop Lee and his wife, Mary, had stayed on to run a laundry business and work at the five-star Southern Hotel. When the hotel burned to the ground, the couple reportedly went back to China.  WHEN WE WERE FAMOUS ALL OVER AMERICA — Here’s a little movie trivia for you. Beale’s Cut, at the top of the southern end of Sierra Highway, has been used in countless movies. Two local millionaire cowpokes, Harry Carey and Hoot Gibson, teamed up before they became millionaire cowpokes and wealthy Santa Clarita land owners. In 1917, they shot “Straight Shooting” at the historic landmark. If you ever saw the John Wayne classic and the film that made The Duke a star, “Stagecoach,” part of that flick was shot here. In 1923, another local cowboy, Tom Mix (who would later become the most famous box office star on the planet) filmed his controversial “Three Jumps Ahead” at the Cut. That’s where he wowed audiences by “jumping” the old stagecoach route. Stuntman Richard Talmadge boasted he actually made the jump for Mix. The truth was, the studio just used old-fashioned special effects to simulate Mix clearing the 90-foot-deep canyon on his wonder horse, Tony (a Placerita-born native). Mix walked across a wooden ramp on Tony and the FX folks pasted it onto the film. A year later, Mix’s friend, Will Rogers, poked fun of Tom. Rogers duplicated the historic jump. Midway across, though, Rogers and his horse did a triple somersault in midair.  NOVEMBER 23, 1924  SIGNAL LOSES AN OPINIONIST — Roland Johnson, manager of the Summit Gas Station, was killed by a passing auto on this date. He was also a Mighty Signal columnist. Note to staff and self: Look both ways before we cross the street.  WOULD KILL TO HAVE A HOODIE WITH “PETROLEUM PIONEERS OF CALIFORNIA” — Millionaire oilman W.W. Orcutt and The Petroleum Pioneers Society of California bought 29 acres of the Henry Clay Needham ranch off present-day Sierra Highway in Newhall. They originally were going to build a memorial park to honor the valley as the center of the West Coast oil boom. Needham ran unsuccessfully for president several times. Orcutt? He ended up buying several hundred acres near Rice Canyon and starting a cattle ranch that lasted until the 1960s.  NOVEMBER 23, 1934  THE LOCAL HATFIELDS & McCOYS — We had ourselves an old-fashioned Tennessee mountain feud up Acton way. For years, ag-men named Smith and Leverton had been bickering over their farm boundaries. The hostilities escalated to gunplay and an innocent bystander was killed. Poor Frank Karshman went to visit his friend, Leverton, and was carrying a lantern. Smith’s nephew, Rolly Shaw, shot at the light, hitting the fellow. Karshman ran for a few yards, then collapsed, dead. He left a widow and two small children.  GHOULS HERE POST-HALLOWEEN — We talk about how values have slipped in America. Sometimes, we forget the past. A small plane crashed into the hills near the old Newhall road tunnel by Beale’s Cut. The single-wing hit with such force, there were no bodies to pull out, just pieces of former humans. There were reports of passers-by not only stealing plane wreckage, but human parts, as well. This was the second time in the early 20th century where a plane crashed near Newhall Pass and ghoulish looky-loos pilfered body parts.                                            NOVEMBER 23, 1944  IT’S GIVE THE U.S.S. GERALD FORD A RUN FOR ITS MONEY — A brand-spanking new oil tanker rolled off the assembly lines at the Marinship Corp.’s shipyards in Sausalito. It was the 11th in a series of 32 tankers in the “Hills” class. It was christened, “Newhall Hills” to honor the oil-producing area in Santa Clarita. Not sure if the ol’ U.S.S. Newhall Hills is in commission anymore and I’m betting you can’t get it on e-Bay, either.  HOW COME THERE’S NEVER A HUMANE SOCIETY AROUND FOR HUMANS WHEN WE NEED ONE? — Despite being postponed for a rare November cloudburst, the Newhall-Saugus Rodeo went off without — pun coming — a hitch. (Get it?) For the first time in our history, The Los Angeles Humane Society sent a representative to make sure none of the rodeo stock was injured. Too bad the humans didn’t have an SPCA rep handy. The critters sent three cowboys to the hospital …  DO PARDON ME, BUT HIS NAME SOUNDS LIKE IT BELONGS TO A MALE STRIPPER — One of the highlights of the rodeo was actor and cowpoke, Lash LaRue. He rode a lightning-spitting Brahma bull. Garnering extra points for difficulty, Lash was smoking a big stogie while atop the beef. He lost neither his cigar nor his hat after his eight seconds of kidney readjusting.  HOW CAN YOU HOLD A PROPER RODEO WITHOUT AN ELECTRIC OUTLET? — Another actor/cowboy at our world-famous wild West show was “Wild” Bill Elliott. He was the announcer. He cracked up the audience by making a public address announcement. Seems one of the fans was a pretty little mother with a baby. The mom had an electric baby bottle warmer but there wasn’t a place to plug the thing in at the old rodeo grounds.  NOVEMBER 23, 1954  THEM DIRTY SO-&-SO’s AT THE LOS ANGELES TIMES — Long after the damage was done, The Los Angeles Times printed a retraction. The weekend before the state election in which Bill Bonelli Jr. was running for Assembly, the Times ran a big front-page story, linking the Saugus businessman and son of “Big” Bill Bonelli Sr. to the Mafia. The correction apologized for any misrepresentation or erroneous facts (which is an oxymoron). Still. The favored Bonelli lost the election. The Times was in the midst of a decades-long feud with Big Bill. The dad was head of the state Board of Equalization and accused the behemoth publishing empire of owning hundreds of liquor licenses under the names of reporters and photographers. How’s that for a perk? Write a story, get a night club.  THE BONELLI BOOK — Bonelli Sr. penned an investigative tell-all about The Times and scores of crooked politicians and public servants. It’s called “Billion Dollar Blackjack” and you can still pick up a copy on the Internet.  BUMS BBQ — Hoboes broke into the old Southern Pacific train station (today, the Jan Heidt Metrolink depot). They tried to beat the November chill by starting a little campfire. Locals saw smoke and called the fire department. The local flame fighters broke into the place (which was then used as a potato warehouse) to douse the tiny blaze. Damage? Just about 20 bucks …   NOVEMBER 23, 1964  SNOW? REALLY? IN NOVEMBER? — Here’s a rare one for you. San Francisquito Canyon and old Highway 99 were briefly closed. The culprit? Snow. We had a frigid week in town, with the mercury hitting from the low 20s to mid-30s. Necessity is the mother of capitalism. Paint store owner Ted Berquist started displaying snow shovels. Brrrr …  NOVEMBER 23, 1974  KICKED TO DEATH, CHUCK? REALLY? — While Hart won the contest, 20-7, it was unclear who won the post-game brawl. After the crosstown rivalry between Hart and Canyon, fisticuffs erupted and poor Canyon coach Chuck Ferrero, who had been reprimanded earlier, found himself trying to be a peacemaker during the melee. My kid-brother-like-substance, Willie, who was coaching at Hart at the time, jumped in to save Chuck from flying fists and helmets. Chuck noted afterwards: “You tell that Willie if it wasn’t for him, I would have been kicked to death.”  THEM COWBOYS. — What can we tell you …  WHEN WE WERE ALMOST OUR OWN COUNTY — The local government formation committee did a little timely PR and marketing. They launched their movement to make Santa Clarita a new county by setting 1976 for their election date. Might point out that 1776 was when America was founded and 1876 was when Newhall was founded. Alas, when 1976 did arrive, Canyon County fell as a county measure.  POST WORLD SERIES LOCAL TRIVIA — One of the best writers in America lived in Valencia 30 years ago. Mark Harris wrote the prize-winning play and movie, “Bang the Drum Slowly.” I still tear up watching that one.  NOVEMBER 23, 1984  FALLING BACKWARDS, CLUTCHING OUR HEART — Here’s a rare one. The county Regional Planning Commission actually said no to a housing project here in the Santa Clarita Valley. Developers for Ben Johnson’s Farms wanted to build 6.6 homes per acre on 861 acres at the corner of Bouquet and Vasquez canyons. That’s almost 5,700 homes. The RPC noted the developer turned in an inadequate environmental impact report and that, also, the narrow single-lane ribbons of Bouquet and Vasquez could not absorb that much extra traffic.  RE: THE ABOVE? — Well. That’s why we have sidewalks, isn’t it?  • • •   That pert near wraps up our morning trek through the yesteryears. You saddlepals take good care of yourselves and one another. We’ll rest up a bit, wrestle with the week and then, next weekend, we’ll do some more moseying. Wishing you and yours a serene and joyous Thanksgiving. Until then? “¡Vayan con Dios, amigos!”   Local historian and the world’s most prolific satirist/humorist John Boston just launched his multimedia website and online store, johnlovesamerica.com. Check it out! Tell others. Buy stuff, like — JB’s two-volume set of “MONSTERS” on local horror and macabre …  The post The Time Ranger | What Kind of Person Steals Body Parts?  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.